The proposed research aims to respond to the NIAAA Program Announcement by examining "relationships between variations in economic conditions and variations in alcohol use and abuse". More specifically, we propose to go beyond existing research by using panel data collected through the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Project to test the following hypotheses controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as for inclination to use alcohol. A. Alcohol use (i.e. consumption by day and week) and dependence (i.e. DSM-lll-R category 303.90) among labor force participants will be greater among those who experience income deprivation and/or job loss than among those who do not. B. Alcohol use and dependence among labor force participants will be greater among those employed in industrial sectors with a contracting need for labor than among those employed in sectors with a stable or expanding need for labor, controlling for personal job loss. C. Alcohol use and dependence among the labor force participants will be greater among those in labor markets with decreasing demand for labor than among those in labor markets with stable or increasing demand for labor, controlling for personal job loss.